Sketchbook
by xxCindaxx
Summary: [Deidara] A gift from one artist to another. Deidara finds Rina in the forest, drawing pictures of blood. However, she wasn't just any ordinary artist.
1. Sketch 1

Sketchbook

Sketch #1

* * *

A short golden blonde haired boy climbed the big roots of the trees in the forest. His slanted blue eyes were curious of the adventure that lay ahead of him as he continued.

He heard a noise surround him that made him cautious, a hand going inside the small bag he owned. Once he believed it was nothing, he trekked on, humming a soft tune happily.

He stopped by a boulder and sat down, taking out some water to drink. He normally frequented that forest as it was close to his home, and he could work on his shinobi skills by himself without anybody pestering him.

Deidara was the boy's name. Once finished, he wiped his lip and gazed up at the sun through the trees that sheltered him, closing his eyes and smiling at the warmth.

That was, until he felt something wet hit his forehead. He immediately blinked his eyes open in surprise, but then realised it wasn't raining.

"Hah...?" He elongated the vowel and made a face, touching his forehead with his fingers. When he brought it back down, he saw it was red. The boy panicked when he saw blood - did he hit himself somewhere? Why was there blood on him?

Deidara stood up and took a few steps away from the boulder, trying to look over the top. He saw some movement and quickly jumped up to where it was, furiously wiping the blood off his forehead, making him look he had been sunburnt with the excessive rubbing.

The blonde held onto the string of his bag as he arrived at the apex of the boulder. It was somewhat flat, so ground was stable, but somebody was on top.

Deidara noted that the person wore a set of dirty clothes, and had short brown hair that was quite messy. It wasn't the fact that there was dirt and grime smudged all on the person's face that made Deidara frightened, but rather the hands and feet of the person were all bloody. That person's golden coloured eyes were the same shade as Deidara's hair and stood out on their face, big and curious.

"Why are you bleeding? Did you get hurt, hm?" Deidara kneeled down and took out some bandages from his bag. He was going to use them on himself but considering that person looked worse off than he was, he decided it was for the better.

The person shook their head, inching away from Deidara. Once they moved, the blonde boy noticed that the ground was covered with pictures, but all drawn in blood.

His mouth went dry and he gulped thickly, feeling the bloody smell suddenly hit him like a kick in the groin.

"Wha...did you draw these all yourself, un?" Deidara managed to ask. He was an artist himself and appreciated all forms of art, but this was quite extreme, and the amount of blood used wasn't something to be proud of.

"I...I drew these." The injured person nodded their head slowly and stared at Deidara in curiosity. "Who...are you?" Their voice was soft.

"Name's Deidara. What about yours, hm?" The blonde took a couple of steps forward but stopped when the other inched back, dangerously near the edge of the boulder.

 _If I go any further he'll fall, un..._ Deidara thought. He stayed rooted to his spot, expectantly waiting for an answer.

"...my name is...Rina." The child dragged their fingers against a previously made blood drawing.

"Rina, hm..." Deidara thought for a moment, wondering why a boy would have such a cutesy name. But then it came to him, unsuspecting as he was. "YOU'RE A GIRL, UN?!"

Rina flinched at the loudness of his voice and squeezed her eyes shut, opening one eye at the blonde before finding that it was safe and that he wasn't going to attack her, then opened the other eye.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, un." Dei apologized, sitting on the ground. He stared at her for a long moment, wondering why she was doing what she was doing. "Do you like drawing, Rina, hm?"

Rina crossed her legs and nodded her head slowly, smiling. "Drawing is...fun! But it hurts to draw with blood...but it can't be helped."

"What do you mean it can't be helped, hm?" The male raised a brow and frowned, "You can die from blood loss, you know, un."

"...die from blood loss?" Rina tilted her head slightly, thinking, "But I haven't died yet..."

"No, no, I mean when you do it too much, un." Dei sighed and placed the bandages in front of him. "Anyway, you're bleeding. Can you come over here so that I can put bandages on your hands and legs? It'll help them heal, un."

"Bandages..." Rina mumbled, staring at the medical material. She was like a sloth, taking her time to go near the blonde.

Dei stared at her with a sweat drop. He didn't understand why she was acting this way - it was like she was coming in for a meal and he was the prey. Except she wouldn't be eating him.

"I won't hurt you, hm." Deidara held up the bandages.

Rina crawled over to him, scratching her knees slightly in the process. Dei fixed her up there, expertly wrapping the bandages around her wounded fingers and toes.

"There! All done, un!" He wiped imaginary sweat off his forehead.

Rina was amazed and kept moving her fingers, testing out the material that wrapped her skin. "This feels...weird."

"It will help you heal, hm." Dei rummaged through his bag and took out 2 things - a sketchbook and a pen. He placed them on the ground and pushed it towards Rina. He was a little annoyed that he was giving up his sketchbook, but he forced himself to think it was for a good cause.

"What's...this?" Rina asked, taking the 2 objects. She looked at them with pure curiosity, making Deidara wonder what era she was from.

"The big one's a sketchbook, yeah. The small one is a pen. You can draw in the sketchbook with the pen, un." He explained. "It's better than using your blood to draw - it doesn't hurt and you can keep your work, yeah!"

Rina tried out the pen on paper, her eyes widening with amazement when she managed to draw a line. "Cool...!"

"Heh, isn't it? You can have that! It's a gift from me to you! Show me some drawings next time we meet, yeah!" Deidara grinned. "I need to go do some training now, so I have to go. See ya, Rina, hm!"

Rina returned a wave hesitantly when Dei waved at her. She smiled at the sketchbook and pressed it to her lips, giving it a small kiss.

"I will draw...something good!"

Deidara sighed and leaned against a tree. He shook his head, remembering the kinds of drawings that Rina had on the boulder.

Rina wasn't just any ordinary artist. She was on a completely different level.

"She should only be my age...yet how come she can already draw a battlefield full of detail and precision, hm?"


	2. Sketch 2

Sketchbook

Sketch #2

* * *

The following day, Deidara made his way to the forest. This time, he wanted to continue his training in peace, unlike how he got distracted and wasn't able to do a full session of training the other day.

 _Yet I want to see what she's up to, hm.._.Dei was conflicted and rubbed his temples, sighing with aggravation.

"Fine, fine, fine, yeah!" Dei found the boulder that he had been on just yesterday and jumped up. He blinked when he found the area empty, raising an eyebrow. The blood drawings were still there, but just barely, due to the rain from the night before.

 _So she isn't here...yeah. Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, un.._.Deidara shrugged to himself and jumped off, going to resume his training.

He started off with some taijutsu, then weapon throwing. After his warmup, the young ninja took out some clay from his pouch and used the mouths in his hand to mould it. It came out as a small bird, but the way that it was made was all wonky and lacked precision.

Dei frowned and moulded his hands together to form it again, trying to achieve a perfect mould.

 _I still haven't gotten used to moulding clay! I need to improve, yeah!_ Deidara wasn't using any chakra, but it took willpower and endurance to finally get the look he wanted.

"Finally, yeah!" Dei grinned like an idiot and showed it off to himself, proud of his creation.

He heard a rustle in the bushes and blinked, staring in that direction he had heard it from.

"Who's there, hm?" Deidara didn't know anybody who would sneak up or try to attack him. Nobody frequented that forest.

The blonde stood up and went over to where he heard the noise, which was behind some bushes, and poked his head through. He didn't see anything interesting and raised a brow.

 _I swear I heard someone here, un.._.Deidara saw something in the air. He took his head out of the bushes and jumped up to catch the falling scrap of paper.

His blue eyes widened when he saw a portrait of himself and his clay bird creation on his palms, grinning stupidly because he had succeeded. It was a sketch, but it was mighty accurate.

"Who?" Deidara narrowed his eyes, "I have a stalker, un?!"

"Deidara…do you like it?" Rina's head popped up from behind a tree nearby. She felt really shy showing him the pictures she drew.

"So I don't have a stalker, yeah…" Dei sweat dropped and nodded her direction, holding up the piece of paper next to him for comparison, "Look, Rina, un! You drew me really well, hm!"

Rina blushed and grinned. She laughed and stepped away from the tree, holding onto the sketchbook he had given her just yesterday. "Do you…want to look at the others?" She bashfully held the sketchbook to him, staring at the ground.

"Huh? Okay, un." Dei took the sketchbook, and as he did so, he noted that he needed to change her bandages. They seemed to be dirty.

 _I'll do that later, yeah…_ the blonde flipped through the pages of the sketchbook. His brows jumped and his blue eyes widened as he looked at each drawing. It was so realistic that it looked almost real. Like they could jump out of the page. Deidara saw a picture of a male with a swirly mask and spikey dark hair, wearing a funny cloak with red clouds, along with a few others who wore the same outfit, but they were silhouettes that were larger than that swirly masked person.

In the following page, the same cloak designs were there, but this time, there were two people. One was a large heap with a long steel tail and a funny face, and the other one looked like Deidara, but older.

Deidara knitted his brows in thought as he proceeded to the next page, seeing what was happening next. The next one showed a picture of himself, but he was flying on a bird, with an arm missing.

The page after that was a one where there was a background; he saw that one of the walls were destroyed and somebody stood in the middle of all that, only their eyes showing.

The next one was a half-finished picture, where Deidara was drawn, but he had a solemn look on his face.

"Wha…" Dei was speechless. He just stared at the pictures, shocked by their accuracy. He looked up at Rina with his blue eyes, brows furrowed. Why was she drawing him in the first place? "Why did you draw this, un?" He was reminded of the bloody war drawings on the boulder.

Rina looked a little taken aback by his expression but timidly replied, "I had a dream about that. So I drew it."

"…why am I in most of these, un?" A small but cheeky grin curled his lips upwards, "Did you dream about me, hm?" He wriggled his eyebrows at her.

"Yeah, I did." Rina stated bluntly, a little weirded out by his eyebrow wriggling. Deidara wanted to punch himself for trying to be funny.

"…what did you see in your dream, hm?" The blonde regained himself and flipped to the first picture of the guy in the swirly mask.

"He was…someone that appeared in the background…of the red clouds. There were many people...I saw you there too."

"Me? What's the red clouds for, un? Is it some kind of uniform, yeah?" Dei asked.

"I…don't know."

Deidara shrugged, flipping to the next page, where it showed him and some other person, "Is this supposed to be me, un?"

"Yes…you had a partner…but I haven't seen them before…" Rina took the sketchbook from him and showed him the picture, where she tapped his face, "I think this is you when you're older…"

Deidara didn't know what to say to that. He just kept quiet, nodding slowly. He shook his head, _what does she see in those dreams of hers?_

"This one…" The girl flipped to the next page, showing him on a bird, missing an arm. "Is when you went into battle…with someone strong…that you underestimated." She flipped to the next, with the picture of the destroyed wall, "Something that happens…that will change your way of thinking…about art…" She flipped to the last one and stared at it for a long moment, before pointing to his face, "You were saying a farewell…" She then tapped the empty spot next to Deidara's solemn portrait, "But the other one…was crying."

Deidara gulped, suddenly a little creeped out at what she was saying. It was strange and weird. He didn't know whether she was just making it up, or if she was telling the truth of what she dreamt.

"Who…who was crying, un?" Dei managed to ask.

Rina's lips only curled into a small smile, but it was anything but happy. She flipped the book around so that it faced her and quickly sketched something, showing it to him.

Deidara's eyes widened and he blinked at her, surprised. "The one that's crying…huh…?"

"Yes…it's me."


	3. Sketch 3

Sketchbook

Sketch #3

* * *

Deidara stared off into space, wondering what Rina had meant. She was so vague, yet it was so straightforward.

 _I don't know whether to believe her or not, hm,_ Dei thought with a small frown. After thinking some more, he decided to pay her another visit. The girl was a mystery. She dreamt up random things that she claimed would happen to Deidara – what was she doing, predicting the future?

 _Nah, un. Maybe not…all of that is a lie, un._ Dei shrugged to himself, but found that his mental words were nothing but talk. _Dammit, un! I don't not believe her, but I don't believe her either, hm! This is frustrating, yeah…_

The young blonde shook his head and carried on ahead, trying to think of something else. His mind wandered off to the pictures that he first saw – the drawings of blood.

 _Just what_ is _that, hm?_ Dei stroked his imaginary beard in thought. The artist jumped into the forest, hoping to see the girl again.

When he arrived at the boulder and jumped on top, he was surprised to see that Rina was already there, staring his way, holding the sketchbook in her lap as she sat crossed legged.

"Hello Deidara." She smiled and tilted her head as she did so.

Dei stared at her strangely before sitting down somewhere where he wouldn't fall off. He felt a little unnerved, seeing Rina stare at him for a long time. "W-what are you staring at me for, un?"

"You have something…to ask me." She pointed to the blood pictures that were still on the rock, "…about those."

Deidara's blue eyes widened. How did she know about that? He didn't tell anybody, and he recently only thought of it as well!

 _How the hell, un…?_ Dei was speechless.

Noticing that he wasn't going to say anything yet, Rina opened up the sketchbook, having come prepared. She had dreamt of what was going to happen that day, and thus prepared accordingly. She flipped a few pages and showed Deidara.

"This is a war I dreamt about…I don't know when it will be…but I saw you in it." Rina tapped her finger onto Deidara's face on the page. He was dressed in a cloak, but his eyes were strangely coloured and it looked like his skin was cracking like dehydrated land.

"That's me, un?" Deidara blinked a few times and inspected the page with curiosity. He was standing next to that red head from the previous pictures, with a large clay bird behind him.

"Yes." The female flicked to the next page, revealing a picture of a female praying. They looked rich and noble, but the feeling of the picture was not extravagant, but rather sad.

"Who's this, hm?"

"…I don't know." Rina admitted.

Dei gave her a funny look. Wasn't she supposed to know, or at least have a tiny idea of who the person was?

"This was a fuzzy part of my dream…" Rina pressed a finger to her forehead and closed her eyes, trying to remember. She saw images flashing through her mind and tried to find the right one. Once she did, she opened her golden eyes again, "She's praying…but I don't know what she's saying…she's really sad…"

"Why are all the girls you dream about sad, un?" Deidara pointed out bluntly.

Taken aback, the female flipped the page, not answering his question.

 _Why is she silent, hm?_ Deidara wondered.

"The war ended…and two people were the people's saviours…" Rina's eyes narrowed at the silhouettes she drew, then flipped to another page, which had nothing on it. She stared at it for a long time, confusing Deidara.

"How do you dream these things, un?" Dei inquired.

"I don't know..." Rina replied. She placed the book down by her side and went on her knees, turning to the blood drawings. She pointed to one and gestured Deidara to come over. He peered over and saw that it was a picture roughly resembling him, standing on a large bird. "This is you."

"Me, un?" Dei stared at it with question. She sounded so confident in her words all of a sudden, as if she was sure that it was him with no mistake.

He realised that those blood pictures were there before he even met her – it confused the blonde all the more.

"Yes." Rina nodded once and crawled to another side, pointing to a picture of a male with long dark bangs on the sides of his face along with a low ponytail and feminine eyes. He wore the same thing that 'Deidara' wore, and had similar features where the skin looked like cracked land. "You didn't like this person." Rina tapped the picture's face.

"Hah? What's that supposed to mean, hm?" Deidara frowned and crossed his arms.

"I don't know…you have to ask yourself that." Rina crossed her legs again and sat peacefully.

Dei made a face but sighed and stood up, ready to go. "I have to get back to training."

"I know…have fun." Rina gave him a small smile and waved.

Dei jumped down, going over what he had heard. Was it just a coincidence that she knew that he came there to ask about those pictures of blood? Was it a coincidence that she had drawn him before he even made an appearance to her?

The blonde shook his head and huffed, "No way, un…" He muttered.

Rina tilted her head at Dei's words, having heard them from above.

 _I guess I'll go home…_ Rina carefully climbed down the rock from the other side and made her way back to the orphanage at the edge of the forest.


	4. Sketch 4

Sketchbook

Sketch #4

* * *

Rina's home was the orphanage. Her parents had died in a freak accident while they were travelling from one country to another as merchants, leaving her an orphan. She was very young then, around 4 years old.

"Mother! I'm back...!" Rina greeted, opening the orphanage doors. There was no one to greet her yet, but once she had called out, the sound of multiple footsteps sounded around the large house.

"Rina! You're back already, my dear!" A robust woman came from the corridor, along with many other orphans who were both younger and older than her. She was middle aged, but she was the kindest woman that Rina had ever met. She was the orphanage owner and took care of all the children like they were her own.

She met her in a strong hug, grinning ear to ear. "Welcome back!"

The other children greeted her with smiles on their faces, but then they stared at her appearance, seeing that she was dirty yet again, forcing sighs and laughter to come from their mouths.

Mother grabbed Rina's wrist and pulled her along, "You're taking a bath, young missy! Why do you always come back all dishevelled? You looked perfectly fine when going out this morning!"

Rina laughed lightly, letting herself be dragged, "I keep falling off trees…and tripping over…"

Mother laughed heartily, finding slight humour in those words, "Yet you never come home with a scratch on you! Well, not never, but sometimes!"

Rina laughed a little, staring at her fingers, which were still bandaged. Mother knew that she had gone off into the forest nearly every day, but she didn't know the reason behind her bleeding fingers. Rina hadn't told her – fearing that she would worry too much if she revealed the truth. Instead, she told her that she accidently scrapped her fingers against rough tree bark. Even though Mother was sceptical, she believed her nonetheless. Rina had let her fingers heal, but when they did, she would go off again to draw; that was when she met Deidara, and he had wrapped her fingers in bandages. The look of surprise on Mother's face was priceless, but she didn't question the girl.

Once all cleaned up, Rina looked completely different to what she looked like before. Instead of the messy brown hair, it was straight and combed, coming to her shoulders. There were no dirt marks on her face and her attire was completely different – she was wearing a floral dress that Mother prepared.

"Why do I have to wear this…?" Rina questioned, staring at the cute design. Normally she would just wear a casual T shirt and shorts that were hand-me-downs from the older sisters or brothers in the orphanage.

"You forgot? We have a dinner tonight, Rina!" Mother rummaged through some of the drawers and found what she wanted, clipping up the side of Rina's hair with a flower clip. "You look splendid! Look!" She grabbed her shoulders and placed her in front of the mirror.

"We have a dinner?" Rina questioned. She didn't care too much of what she looked like. It wasn't exactly important to her right now.

"Yes. The Tsuchikage wanted to meet with you all." Mother grinned.

"Why would the Tsuchikage want to meet with us?" Rina questioned. She hadn't the faintest idea of what the Tsuchikage wanted, nor why he initiated a meeting. "It doesn't make any sense…"

"His advisors said that he wanted to see which ones of you would be suitable for training." Mother led Rina out of the room, showing her to the other kids, who ooh-ed and ahh-ed.

"…is that so?" Rina contemplated a little bit. She didn't know what was going to happen – she didn't dream about any of this.

While the girl was deep in thought, the other children in the orphanage went to get dressed and look proper for the coming night.

* * *

"Deidara, hurry up." Onoki, the Tsuchikage ushered the blonde, who sighed with a scowl. "You're being too slow."

"I'm coming, I'm coming, yeah!" Dei hurried his step. The old man was walking to the dinner destination. His granddaughter, who was around Deidara's age, was coming along too.

She grinned at the blonde, "You're so slow, Deidara-nii!"

Deidara made a funny face at the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, but continued along. He could never keep up with them in terms of walking speed. Even though the man was old, he was a fast walker.

"AH! MY BACK!" A crack was heard on his back and the old man fell over, but was ultimately caught by some guard ninja that had followed them in the shadows.

"Tsuchikage-sama! Are you alright?!" One of them asked worriedly.

Deidara caught up with them and stared at the Kage with a raised brow. "Why do you walk so fast if your back's going to act up, hm?" He questioned almost smugly.

"Shut it, Deidara!" Onoki massaged his back and hip before standing up again. He turned to the guard ninja, "I'll be fine. Go back."

The guards did as told and the Tsuchikage was back on his feet, albeit feeling the effects of the back. He massaged it gently with his hand.

"So why are we going to dinner, un?" Deidara questioned. He only heard the Tsuchikage tell him that he'd be going to dinner and that he'd be dragged along. "Why am I going to this, hm?"

"To pick out someone worthy of becoming a fine ninja. Most orphans don't have the opportunity to become ninja." Onoki continued ahead, but at a slower pace.

Kurotsuchi skipped behind him, hands entwined behind her back as she did so. She was so used to seeing her grandfather's burdens with his hip and back that she became unfazed by it.

"Hah? So why me, yeah?"

"Let's put it this way – do you want free food or not?" Kurotsuchi grinned and wagged her finger at Deidara, who became silent, "He's saying that you might be able to help pick out a few of them."

"So we're meeting with the orphanage then, hm?"

"Yeah."

"But aren't there a lot of them, un?"

The Tsuchikage turned to Deidara with sharp eyes, "What do you take me for, a broke, weak old man!?"

"I never said—"

The old man's fist hit a blonde head.


	5. Sketch 5

Sketchbook

Sketch #5

* * *

Deidara stared at the floral dressed female orphan for a long minute. There was something so familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger to it. He was sitting a few seats away from her and just kept staring, trying to figure out what that something was.

"Deidara-nii, are you in love?" Kurotsuchi gave the blonde a sly smirk as she leaned her chin on her palm. She had witnessed everything that went on that evening, from the meeting of the orphanage inhabitants to the long staring. If it wasn't love, what was it?

"No, un!" Deidara frowned at the granddaughter.

"Oh…poo." She pouted. By the look of the blonde, it definitely wasn't it. He didn't even blush, not even a stutter! "What a letdown…" She muttered with a sigh.

Dei rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the orphan female, who was staring back at him with her golden coloured eyes. She seemed to have an impassive expression, as if she was expecting something.

Feeling slightly unnerved by her staring, Dei recalled another time when he felt unnerved. Suddenly it clicked in his mind, "AH! You're Rina, yeah?!" He pointed at her with a shocked expression.

The whole table went silent. The Tsuchikage sighed through his nose and stared at Deidara with a 'what-are-you-doing-now' expression; Kurotsuchi's brows were up and she was surprised by his sudden outburst; Mother blinked a few times in wonder before grinning; the other orphanage kids stared at Deidara for a long moment, before bombarding him with questions about how he knew their sister.

Once he had answered all the questions (though some of them were reluctant), everybody got the full picture.

"So you were meeting her secretly in the forest…" Kurotsuchi mused, "So they were dates after all," She cooed, "Deidara-nii's in _love_!"

"No they weren't, un! AND NO I'M NOT, YEAH!" Deidara snapped. He calmed himself down with a deep breath. He huffed, turning to Rina, "Why do you look so different? I couldn't even recognise you, yeah."

"I got cleaned and dressed…?" Rina tilted her head in confusion. It wasn't as if she looked _that_ different, was it?

"I didn't know you were an orphan, yeah." Deidara changed the topic and scarfed down some food when it arrived. The others were busy talking amongst themselves so the blonde and brunette talked across the table.

"No, you didn't. I didn't tell you…" Rina mused, placing a few bits of meat into her bowl.

It was awkwardly silent as they ate, listening in on other people's conversations. The two kept stealing glances at each other, wondering what the other was doing, finding it strange that they were in a different setting than in the forest. Others who observed the two thought that they were somewhat akin to a new couple.

Kurotsuchi pouted and crossed her arms, chewing. She had been watching Deidara and Rina the whole time, wanting to find something to tease them about. She couldn't think of anything to say. In the end, she just kept shoving food into her mouth.

"I would like to meet with the kids again," The Tsuchikage started. The orphans looked up at the old man with shocked faces. They thought it was just a one-time occurrence.

"To see their skills?" Mother inquired with a twitch of her brow. Her fingers were intertwined and her elbows were on the table.

"Yes." The red nosed man looked to each and every one of the orphans' faces, committing them to memory. His eyes settled on Rina, then to Deidara, and finally back to Mother. "I will send a messenger to advise you the date, meeting place and time."

"Thank you, Tsuchikage-sama." Mother smiled.

"Looks like you'll see her again." Kurotsuchi grinned and punched Dei's arm playfully. He sent her a look of irritation, but ignored her since they both already knew the answer.

* * *

On the planned day, Deidara and Kurotsuchi both showed up even though they didn't need to.

"What are _you_ here for, un?" Dei side-glanced at the female.

"Just chilling." She jumped down from the tree and strode to where her grandfather was. Dei shrugged and did the same.

Just as he reached the old man did the kids of the orphanage come. Mother nodded her head in greeting and ushered the children up to the field, where they were scheduled to meet.

Onoki was content with seeing them and began to explain what he wanted them to do. Even though it confused some of the children, they still followed the old man's orders.

 _I can recognise her today, yeah._ Dei thought, eyes fixated on the brunette. Rina was standing next to Mother and had a blank look on her face, much like the time that she was with Deidara.

As they started with simple activities such as throwing shuriken, many of them failed to hit the target attached to the trees, resulting in a mental sigh from the old man. The only one who hadn't thrown anything was Rina, who just stared at the shuriken with an incredibly straight face.

"Does she not know how to throw a shuriken?" The Tsuchikage muttered.

"She was paying attention when we taught them…" Kurotsuchi mumbled back.

Deidara, who was forced to help one of the orphan kids, noticed that his mentor and Kurotsuchi were observing Rina rather oddly, and quite obviously too.

 _Geez, what are they up to now, hm?_ Dei made his way over to them and followed their gaze. He made a 'what-the-hell' face when he saw that she hadn't even started the activity. _What's up with her, un?_

Rina stared at the shuriken for a long time, remembering how Deidara and Kurotsuchi threw it. She thought for a moment, remembering her dreams. She had seen people throwing shuriken, but the technique they used was different, even if just a little bit.

 _What would be the most comfortable?_ The golden eyed girl changed her grip on the shuriken several times before finding the right spot. She went into a stance and threw it at the target.

Deidara nearly hit the ground when the shuriken went completely off course and into the tree that another orphan used.

Kurotsuchi, having watched the way the shuriken went, was quite surprised. Her brows jumped up and a small smirk appeared on her face. _Interesting…_

"Deidara-nii, if you don't get up I'll kick your butt!" Kurotsuchi pulled her leg back, kicking it forward.

Knowing exactly what the troublesome female was doing, the blonde rolled over and the kick narrowly missed him. He glared at her with a small frown, sitting up and brushing himself off. He glanced at Rina, who was trying again and again with the shuriken, but they all went off course and into other trees.

"What the hell, un…" Deidara rubbed his temples, "How can someone be so uncoordinated, hm?!"

The Tsuchikage's eyes glinted with amusement as he stroked his beard. His lips were pulled upwards. "Deidara, why don't you look closer."

"Hah? At what, hm?"

"Look at where the shuriken goes."

Deidara raised one brow sceptically but nonetheless followed his mentor's suggestion. He watched as Rina threw the shuriken, tracking it down. His expression shifted to one of surprise when he found that the shuriken that she threw not only curved, but also hit the targets of the other orphans.

Dei was speechless, "Right in the bullseye too, un…all of them."


	6. Sketch 6

Sketchbook

Sketch #6

* * *

"No."

"HAH?!" Deidara exclaimed loudly.

"Deidara-nii, you're too loud." Kurotsuchi kicked Deidara's shin. He winced in pain but went to look back at Rina. They were currently in the Tsuchikage's office, and had brought up Rina because Onoki wanted to have her go into the academy to become a ninja.

"Why do you say no?" The Tsuchikage questioned with a surprised expression. This was probably the first time that he had been turned down by a kid.

"I want to stay with my family." Rina replied simply. Of course, she had other reasons, but she didn't want to state them unless she was asked.

"But your technique is good. You would make a good ninja." Onoki watched the young female closely.

"Maybe…" Rina cast her eyes away, "But I would prefer not to be on the battlefield."

"Why not? You'll be the one making the others cry, yeah!" Deidara exaggerated his movement by slapping his hands onto the Kage's table.

Unfazed by the action, Rina merely shrugged, "I'm not interested in being a ninja. I would rather live a normal life."

"You know…" Kurotsuchi piped up. Rina glanced at her. She was lounging on the sofa by the side of the wall. "Being a ninja _would_ be the _normal life_ if you became one. So doesn't that just sound a little…wrong?"

Rina swore there was a look of challenge in the kunoichi's eyes. She stared at her for a long moment. "In that case…I want to live a life where I am not a ninja."

"Why are you so opposed to being a ninja anyway, yeah?" Deidara asked curiously. She was probably the first person ever to not want to be a ninja, even if she was offered a special spot to learn to be one.

"…you should know, Deidara." Rina's golden eyes flickered to the blonde. With that same impassive expression, the unnerved feeling made Dei grimace silently.

Dei knew that the Tsuchikage and Kurotsuchi both didn't know about her dreams. Whether he trusted them or not was another thing, but the young ninja knew that Rina might have seen something in her dreams that put her off being one.

Noticing the blonde's silence to Rina's piercing stare and words, the Tsuchikage tilted his head slightly. He sighed, "If you do not want to become one that is fine. I won't force you."

"Thank you." Rina nodded her head in approval, "If that is all, I'll be going now."

"Thank you for coming, Rina. Take care on the way back." The Tsuchikage smiled as she exited.

"Aw man…we let a good one go." Kurotsuchi slid down her seat so that she was sitting awkwardly. She had a pouted frown on her face.

"Don't sit like that. You don't want to end up with a hip like the old man here, yeah?" Deidara sniggered.

"OW!"

"Serves you right, Deidara-nii." Kurotsuchi grinned and pulled herself up. She turned to her grandpa, "What are you going to do now, Gramps?"

Onoki's fist emitted steam as he turned to his granddaughter. "If she doesn't want to be one then we just let her be."

"Just like that?!" The short haired girl blinked in astonishment, but accepted the fact. "Alright then."

Deidara rubbed his throbbing head and pressed his lips into a thin line. He had a feeling that Rina had another reason for refusing to be a ninja. But he didn't know what. So he decided that later, he would confront and ask her.

* * *

"What did you come here for, Deidara?" Rina questioned with a raised eyebrow. It was the evening and she had just gotten out of the bath, a towel draped over her head.

The blonde placed his hands onto his hips, "Why did you say you didn't want to be a ninja, hm?"

"This again…?" The girl sighed and stood out of the way to let the boy in. Deidara was a little surprised and followed her. They ended up in the living room, which was empty.

"Where are the others, un?" The blonde glanced around in curiosity. He remembered that there were a lot more orphans than just Rina.

"They're sleeping." Rina replied shortly, "Do you want any tea or water?"

"No thanks, un." Dei shook his head and sat down.

"Why did you persist in coming here? Is my being a ninja really that important?" Rina questioned, sitting in one of the arm chairs.

Dei made a face, not knowing what to say. He looked into space to see how he would answer the question, and after a long moment, he finally got the words, "I wouldn't say it's important, hm…but I think you have another reason, yeah."

"You think I have another reason for not wanting to be a ninja?"

"Un."

"…is that why you came all the way here in the evening?"

Deidara looked away to the side, feeling her burn holes into his face the longer he faced her. The unsettled feeling was still there; he didn't know why.

 _Maybe it's because she doesn't smile as much as Kurotsuchi, yeah? Hm…I don't know, un!_ Deidara mentally sighed and forced himself to look back at the female, giving her a slight nod.

Rina cast her gaze to the fireplace in the middle of the wall, watching the flames flicker and cackle. She rested her chin on her palm. "There's nothing wrong with coming here if you have a question…" Deidara stared at her with a perplexed expression. "But it's true that there are more reasons than just staying with my family…than being a ninja."

"So then what are they, hm?" Deidara sat cross legged on the arm chair and leaned back.

There was no reply for a short while. Deidara tilted his head, having watched the mysterious female for the time.

"I had a dream." She started. She kept her eyes on the flame.

Even though Deidara didn't believe her dreams fully, he still asked for the heck of it. "What did you dream, un?"

"I'm not too sure of this…but I was with a team of ninja…I suspect I might have been a ninja too…and we were jumping on the forest branches…to some destination. When we arrived…there was an explosion…and the ninja with me all died. During the time when the smoke clouded the area…somebody had killed them all…even I fell, but I was able to take a good look at my assailants…a steel tailed puppet…and the shocked face of a certain blonde. They were both wearing…the black cloak with red clouds." Rina explained. The whole time, her golden irises trained on the flickering flame. Once she finished, she closed her eyes to rest them.

Deidara had a bad feeling that if he asked the question he had, he would get an answer that he was better off not knowing.

Feeling his hesitation, Rina opened her eyes to glance at him, "The certain blonde is the one in this very room."

"How…how can you be so sure that it was me, un?" Dei's brows knitted together.

"I told you that…I saw their faces. The puppet, I'm not too sure, but I could see you. How could I forget the face of the person…who killed me in that dream?"


	7. Sketch 7

Sketchbook

Sketch #7

* * *

Deidara rolled around in his bed, trying to wrap his head around what Rina told him. Why would he kill her? It wasn't as if he hated her or anything.

"What the hell, un!" Deidara faced head down onto the pillow. When he ran out of air, he turned to the side with an irritated expression.

 _It's not like I believe in her dreams anyway, hm._ Deidara sighed and sat up against the wall. _This is annoying, un._

Dei opened the window and jumped out, heading towards the orphanage. He had a few questions for the girl and he wanted them answered now. He was an impatient little guy.

* * *

"Rina, Deidara came and wants to speak to you." Mother knocked gently on Rina's door and opened it slightly.

The younger female rubbed her eyes groggily, having pushed herself up from the bed. "What…time is it, Mother?"

"It's past midnight, dear." She replied.

Rina sighed deeply and dropped back onto her pillow, pulling the covers to her neck. "Just bring him in here."

"Alright."

When Mother left to fetch Deidara, Rina closed her eyes. She was tired from the day and wished to rest a little more. She had dreamt of something, but she couldn't recall what it was. It was at the edge of her memory, but she just couldn't remember.

Rina groaned in her light slumber, feeling something shake her shoulder. "What is it now, Mother?"

"I'm not Mother. Get up, Rina, un." Deidara frowned as he shook her shoulder. He then proceeded to poke her cheek, trying to prod her awake. It proved successful, as she woke with an expression of annoyance.

"Why are you here at this time…?" Rina stayed in her spot, forcing the blonde to take a seat on the ground.

"I had a few questions, un. You said I could come if I did have any, hm! Don't go back on your word now, yeah?!" Deidara crossed his arms.

"I did say that…but I didn't expect you to come this late at night." Rina sighed gently. "What did you want to ask?"

"Why do you think what you dream will come true, hm?" He went straight to the point.

Rina was silent as she stared at Deidara's blue eyes. Mother had turned the light on just after leading Deidara to her room, so that it stopped her from sleeping deeply.

"…I have seen it happen." Rina reminisced. She sat up against the wall and wrapped herself in her duvet so that only her head was visible.

Deidara sweat dropped at her action but his attention immediately turned back to her words. "What do you mean, you've seen it happen, un?"

"The reason I'm in this orphanage…is because my parents died during a freak accident when they were journeying," Rina started absentmindedly. She stared at her bed the whole time; remembering what had happened when she was just 4 years old, "But that freak accident…I heard that they had been robbed by bandits…and then they were thrown off the ledge of the cliff, along with all their stuff. That's where…they were found. Now…I had a dream of the exact same thing happening…but I saw the face of the bandits…the loot that they had stolen…there was one that came from this village. He kept a bracelet that my mother had…and tried to sell it."

"Let me guess, you had a dream that told you the location of where he was and you caught him, yeah?" Dei leaned back on his arms, sounding unsurprised.

Rina nodded, "That's precisely what happened. Those dreams…had come true. Of course, there were others…like when you wanted to question my drawings on that boulder…"

The young male made an 'o' with his mouth. "Then what about the other night? When you said that I would kill you, hm?"

"…apart from dreaming about what happens later, I sometimes have dreams about myself, and my options." Rina tried to word simply.

"Ah. So you're saying that if you became a ninja, I'd kill you, yeah? And that if you don't, then you're safe, un?" Dei questioned. He was almost starting to get the hang of where she was heading.

"That's…almost accurate." Rina smiled a little. Deidara tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. Seeing his confusion, she elaborated, "If I became a ninja, I would die…not too many years from now—"

"Wait, how do you know that it's not too many years from now, yeah?!" Dei interrupted.

"I told you that I saw your face." Rina stated almost tiredly, "You looked like you were nearly an adult, maybe around 17 or 18?" She guessed. She did remember that he definitely didn't look or sound like the one in front of her now; but she knew that they were the same person.

"Ah…ok, then what about when you're safe, hm?"

"…well…" Rina hesitated in answering. She looked away to the side to where her mother's bracelet shone, glinting in the artificial light.

"Why aren't you saying anything, hm?" Deidara leaned forward. What was she thinking? Did she see something that she didn't like?

"Um…" Rina glanced at the blonde and pressed her lips together into a thin line.

She recalled the memory of her mother and father and her hands on their legs as she tried to tell them to stop – to not go and make their journey. To not get killed. But they dismissed her warnings and went off ahead, thinking that it was just something that she would say so that they would spend more time with her. Their goodbyes were the last goodbyes that she would ever hear from them.

"Why aren't you saying anything, hm?" Deidara repeated. Rina had just gone silent and he didn't know why. He crossed his legs and waited, hoping that she would answer his questions.

Rina thought of how she would tell Deidara in the most roundabout way possible. She got out of her wrapped state and reached to the side table where her sketchbook lay. Flipping it to the page where she was crying and the page where a female was praying, she pointed to them.

"If you can make sense of these pictures…then what I dreamt will just come to you." Rina says cryptically.

Deidara made a face and frowned, crossing his arms. "Didn't you say that you were crying because of a farewell, un? The one that's praying is probably just some girl grieving or praying for someone's safety or death, yeah?"

Rina's face paled slightly and she closed the sketchbook, placing it on the bed before huddling back into the duvet.

"Oi, why aren't you saying anything, un?" Deidara tilted his head.

"Deidara, it's late. I think you should go back home." Rina's gaze flickered to Deidara, matching his blue eyes. She didn't falter.

Dei felt uncomfortable from the gaze and reluctantly nodded his head, even though he didn't get all the answers he wanted. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry, un. I'll go."

"Goodnight, Deidara." Rina watched as Deidara exited. Once she heard the front door close, she knew he had gone. With a breath she didn't know she was holding, the girl grabbed the sketchbook and counted how many pages were left.

Even though she knew that Deidara wanted to know, she couldn't tell him. Her decision to stay safe was a harder decision than to say that she wanted to be a ninja.

Rina turned to stare at the moon. It was glowing brightly, never fading.

 _I hope the moon never stops glowing._


	8. Sketch 8

Sketchbook

Sketch #8

* * *

 _What the hell was that, un?!_ Deidara thought with irritation. He wanted answers – he only got one from two questions. He thought deeply about why she wouldn't tell him. Did it involve him?

He stopped on a branch, staring at the moon from under the stars. Even though he says that he didn't believe her dreams, he felt himself trying too hard to convince himself. He realised that he shouldn't have been thinking about what she dreams at all if he didn't believe her, but he did. He was interested to see what she had to say, to see if what she predicts will come true.

"DAMMIT, YEAH!" Deidara punched a tree and crossed his arms, sulking. His thoughts were becoming a jumbling mess at this point. He pressed his hand to his forehead.

 _Geez, un! Why do I have to care, huh, un?_ Deidara shook his head and sighed deeply. _Maybe I should just stop caring, yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right, un. I'll stop asking her…that might be better for me, yeah._

* * *

The sounds of dripping water awoke Rina. She blinked herself awake, finding that the roof wasn't there, but rather the sky was. A big, blue sky. It was the day.

 _How did I end up here?_ She questioned herself, sitting up. She wasn't even in her bed anymore. _What…?_

The female scanned the area she was in and inspected the area around her. She didn't know where she was, but she could see that the terrain was moist and vastly vegetated.

 _A forest?_ She thought. She tried jumped up from her spot and amazingly, she managed to go high into the sky. Feeling the wind against her, Rina glanced around before she expected to fall again, but she stayed suspended in the air. She blinked a few times but then shrugged it off.

 _Ok, so I can fly now. Cool, s_ he thought with a small smile. Rina couldn't find anything interesting in the current area she was in other than trees, shrubs among other green vegetation, so she floated towards a temple area, landing on the concrete steps that led up to the location.

 _Where exactly am I? Am I still in Iwagakure?_ Rina thought, observing her surroundings. She quite liked the area. Having finished inspecting that place, she walked up to the temple, where she peered in from the open double doors. The female's eyes caught sight of a female sitting in the middle, playing with something in her hands.

She took a few steps forward, going inside, but she didn't make any noise. The female didn't seem to notice her as she made a beeline to see who it was.

 _What's a blonde girl doing here alone?_ Rina thought curiously. She went in front of the female and nearly exclaimed in surprise when she realised that the female wasn't a female, but rather a male, and someone she knew.

 _Deidara?!_ Rina internally shouted. She shook herself from those thoughts and crouched down, inspecting what he was doing. He had a face full of concentration as he moulded something with his hands. They came out very well, cute little clay sculptures of spiders and birds among dragons.

"Katsu!" Deidara threw them into the air and shouted.

The clay sculptures exploded just after he said that, causing Rina to scream and jump away from him.

"What the—?!" She yelped. She wasn't hurt but it gave her the fright of a lifetime.

Smoke covered the area but cleared very quickly, revealing an unscathed Deidara. He stood there with his hands on his hips and a thinking face on.

"Wait a minute…" Rina stroked her imaginary beard.

 _Deidara looks older here. But he's not wearing that cloak with red clouds. Is this before he does?_ Rina calculated, stringing together what she'd dreamed.

"Yeah, probably." She nodded in confirmation of her thoughts and looked to Deidara again. "Hm?" She saw a couple of people by the door. It was a few men that had come in, but they all looked ordinary.

Their mouths opened but Rina couldn't hear what they were saying. Deidara had turned around and nodded, saying something in return.

 _I can't hear this one, then…?_ Rina's eyes flickered to the group of men. She watched them interact with the blonde. The small group of men then left, leaving behind the blonde, who busied himself with preparing something.

* * *

Rina awoke with a startled cry, panting. Her body was slick with cold sweat. Once the female realised that she was in her own room, she tried to calm down. But even if she physically did, her mind wouldn't stop racing.

Instantly after calming down, she threw the covers off her body and stumbled to the side table, where she literally snatched the pen and sketchbook from its resting place.

Even if it was 4 in the morning, she didn't stop drawing, she _couldn't_ stop drawing.

* * *

Deidara had his arms behind his head as he strolled down the village, hoping for something to do. He only had one mission that day and the rest of his day was free.

 _Boring, yeah!_ Deidara sighed through his nose but blinked a few times when he felt someone hit into him from behind. He nearly stumbled and fell on his face from surprise if not for the person hugging his waist.

"Oi, watch where you're going, yeah?" Deidara warned, looking over his shoulder. His blonde brows raised when he saw Rina. "What are you doing, un?" He deadpanned. He didn't expect her to be the one to try and bulldoze him over, let alone hug him from behind.

Rina let go of him. It was then that Deidara noticed that she carried the sketchbook with her. She had a troubled expression on her face as she met Deidara's eyes, uncertainty evident in them.

Deidara tilted his head slightly, "Hm?" He was surprised that she could even make an expression like that – which he thought was pretty refreshing, compared to all those times that she stared him down, making him uncomfortable. This time, it wasn't.

Rina pressed the sketchbook to his chest, pushing it against him. Deidara just blinked at her, confused.

"You don't like the sketchbook, un?" He asked. Last time he checked, she loved it and wouldn't stop drawing in it.

"I like it. But…I want to give this to you." She replied.

Dei took the sketchbook and began to open it, but it was suddenly slapped closed right in front of his face, courtesy of Rina.

"Woah…what was that for, yeah? I thought you were giving it to me, hm." He deadpanned.

"Don't open it until you get home!" Rina met his eyes, her own ones holding a fierce gaze.

"O-okay, yeah." Dei agreed. He had no idea why she would say that, since it was just a sketchbook, but he obliged anyway.

"Deidara, make sure you remember them." Rina knocked her knuckles gently onto the sketchbook. "It's important."

"Hey, what do you mean, un?!"

"You wanted an answer, right? It's the prequel before the sequel."

"What's that supposed to mean, yeah?!"

"Figure it out yourself."


	9. Sketch 9

Sketchbook

Sketch #9

* * *

"What _is_ this, un?" Deidara confronted the dreamer. He held the sketchbook in his hand, a serious expression on his face.

Rina watched him with her golden coloured eyes. It wasn't even morning yet and he had basically snuck into her room having found out which side her room was on from the outside.

"Why do you keep coming at night?" Rina yawned, sitting up. She glanced at the clock – it was at least 2am.

Deidara flipped open the sketchbook to show her the pictures she had drawn – the first one was of Deidara, impaled by something sharp, with blood spurting out. The 2nd one had a picture of the group of men that had initiated that attack.

"I can't see what you're showing me." Rina mumbled, pulling the covers off herself. She went to turn on the light and yawned yet again.

 _I want to sleep…_ she thought tiredly.

"What do you mean by this? Am I going to die or something, hm?!" Deidara had a mixed look of anger and confusion.

Rina sighed and went back to the bed, throwing the covers over herself. It was a little chilly at night. She huddled in it and wrapped herself up tightly. "Why don't you just calm down…? There's no use being angry at me."

"You were the one who dreamed this, un!" Dei protested. He huffed with annoyance at Rina's calm behaviour.

"Deidara, sit down." Rina requested. She looked to the floor.

The blonde obliged and sat in her line of vision, his arms crossed. "Explain, un." He demanded, throwing the sketchbook so that it landed perfectly in front of her.

"I thought I told you to figure it out yourself." Rina recalled.

"Yeah, and I did! Now I want to hear what you have to say, yeah!" Dei snorted, "So explain, un!"

Rina stared at the pictures she drew. Her hand went to touch the drawing, climbing out of the warmth. With a small sigh, she closed her eyes, "Deidara, you've nearly hit the bullseye."

"Hah? You mean I'm right, un?"

"Somewhat. You guessed right that it was you getting hit – but you didn't die. You were mortally wounded." Rina hesitated telling him this. She had stopped for a long minute before continuing, "But that eventually led to your death."

Dei's blue eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms, "And why are you telling me this, hm?"

Rina opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She closed it and looked away, brows knitted together in thought.

Why did she care so much to tell him? It wasn't as if they were really good friends or family.

 _Maybe it's because of the bad feeling I get whenever I dream about him,_ Rina concluded. Her eyes found Deidara, who had a funny expression on his face.

"So, are you going to tell me or not, yeah?" Dei asked. His finger was tapping his arm impatiently.

"I just want…you to stay safe." Rina said softly. She didn't know how else to word her worries, so she ended up saying that.

Deidara blinked a few times, surprise etched onto his face as he sat, speechless. After a while, he regained himself, although his cheeks were dusted a slight pink.

 _Why the hell is she so forward, un?! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS, YEAH!_ Deidara mentally screamed. He cleared his throat, trying to think up of what to say.

"Uh, um, o-okay, y-yeah…" He stuttered.

 _WHY AM I STUTTERING, UN?!_ The blonde freaked.

Rina dismissed his strange behaviour and picked up the sketchbook, handing it back to Deidara, "You might want to remember the faces of these people. Please be careful."

Deidara nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. He took the sketchbook, "…alright, un." When he took it back, he stared at the page where he was impaled. He looked back at Rina, who tilted her head at his stare.

"…are you telling me to avoid the attack, hm?" Deidara guessed. He couldn't think up of another reason for her to draw him being impaled.

Rina nodded once. "Stay safe. Turn off the lights before you go, please. Goodnight, Deidara."

The blonde watched her hit her pillow and fall asleep right away, leaving him the only awake one in the room. As requested, he turned off the lights and escaped out the window.

As he jumped home, he turned to the last page of the sketchbook, where he actually found a picture when he was just casually flipping through it.

It was just a simple picture, but it was from not too long ago.

 _I wonder if she dreamed that too, hm?_ He wondered.

On the page was him handing her the very sketchbook that he held, back in the forest.

* * *

Rina was packing her bags, trying to fit everything in. Mother popped into the room with a sad smile, "Are you nearly done?"

The female smiled and nodded. "Nearly. When will I be leaving?"

"When they come to this place. They're nearly here." Mother glanced at the time.

"Alright." She closed the suitcase after finally packing all her things into it. She saw a pen on the table and slipped it into her pocket.

Seeing that action, Mother sent her a knowing and sad glance, "I'm sorry that you were forced to live in such a place, where you weren't able to draw. We were simply too poor for it."

Rina's eyes widened at the orphanage owner. "What…?" She gasped. Did she know her secret?

"I'm sorry, Rina. I followed you one day…and I found you drawing...in the forest." Mother had an apologetic look on her face.

Rina cast her eyes away. _So she knew I was lying about the tree bark._

"That boy…" Mother trailed off to look at Rina's bandaged fingers, "He was a good influence on you, was he not?"

Rina was speechless. _Deidara_ was a _good influence?_ She didn't know what to think. "H-How...so?"

"He got you to stop hurting your fingers." Mother smiled and went over to Rina, holding her small hands in her large ones. "These are not for hurting yourself, or for hurting others."

The young female smiled softly.

"Make sure you don't draw with your blood again." Mother warned, "Because when I grow old, I would like to see your drawings with paint and ink, not blood."

Rina blushed and laughed, squeezing Mother's hands. "Okay, Mother! I'll send you pictures."

"That's my girl." Mother grinned and ruffled Rina's hair. The girl started to tear up, thinking of how she wouldn't be able to see Mother for a long time, and how she raised her from when she was young.

Seeing her cry, Mother began to tear up as well. "Don't worry, this farewell isn't forever."

* * *

Deidara found his way to the orphanage in the middle of the day, just before lunch. Even though he was a ninja, he had no missions until later on after lunch.

 _What am I even doing here? I thought I told myself to stop going to ask her questions, yeah._ Deidara thought with annoyance. His expression softened and he rubbed his temples, _Wait, I was going to ask her to lunch, un._

Kurotsuchi's smug filled expression popped into his head and he growled in annoyance, "Shut up Kurotsuchi, un!" He seethed.

With an annoyed sigh, he turned on his heel to leave, but then found himself walking to the orphanage door.

 _The hell, un._ Deidara frowned. He was about to knock, but it opened just before he did.

"Deidara?" Mother questioned. She chuckled at the boy's surprised expression. "Are you looking for Rina, dear?"

"Uh, yeah, un." He stammered.

Mother smiled softly, "Sorry, honey. But she just got adopted so she'll be living with her new parents."

It took Deidara way too long to realise why she would get adopted. He exclaimed, "WHAT?! Where is she, un?!"

"She's on her way to another part of the Land of Earth." Mother explained, "Her new parents are very rich and found a liking to her after hearing about her skills."

"Huh…?" Deidara's eyes turned to the size of plates when he realised something. "When did she leave, un?!"

"She left about half an hour ago."

"Which way, yeah?!"

"They went that way."

"THANKS, UN!" He raced off into that direction, leaving behind a trail of dust. Mother giggled at the boy's actions.

"What a sweet boy." Mother chuckled when she remembered him handing her the sketchbook.

* * *

"OI! RINA, UN, WAIT UP, YEAH!"

Rina's eyes widened as she recognised that voice. She turned around on the carriage she was in and looked out the back window, seeing Deidara running at full speed towards their cart. She panicked slightly and turned to her new parents, "Mother, Father, is it okay if we stop the cart for a moment? My friend is running after it…"

Her new parents glanced at each other and glanced out the window, seeing the blonde. The Mother giggled at the blonde's focused expression and opened up the hatch that let her talk to the driver.

"Please stop the cart for a moment."

The cart began to slow down and Rina thanked her new parents before jumping out to greet Deidara. The blonde caught up and panted heavily, hands on his knees. He looked up at Rina, seeing her concerned expression.

"Rina…yeah! Since…when…?" Deidara panted, wiping sweat from his face.

Rina glanced back at her new parents, seeing them watching them with sightly curious expressions from the cart.

"It was decided not too long ago. They're my new parents." Rina smiled.

"Yeah…but…why didn't you…tell me…un?!" His tone was a little sharper than normal, indicating that he was irritated. He took a few deep breaths to try and control his breathing.

"I…" Rina wavered and looked away with guilt.

"Oi! Look…at me when you talk, yeah!" Deidara grabbed her cheeks from either side and situated it so that she was looking directly at him.

Rina's golden coloured eyes widened at the action. "Deidara, I—"

"Don't 'Deidara, I' me, yeah! Stop with the excuses, un!" He frowned.

Rina teared up slightly, "I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye!"

Seeing the emotion on her face made him nod in satisfaction. He pinched her cheeks, "You should be, yeah!"

"I'm sorry!" Rina apologized, sniffing, "I thought you didn't want to bother yourself with me anymore…!"

"Hah? Who gave you that idea, un?" Deidara raised a blonde brow.

"I-I-I thought—"

Deidara flicked her forehead, making her wince slightly and rub the spot with teary eyes. "Why would you think that, un? You're such an idiot, yeah!" He sighed and rolled his eyes. "We're friends, right…?" He looked away with a slight blush.

When Deidara looked back, he saw a waterfall of tears from the female. He mentally swore, "Uh, un—"

"I'm sorry…I didn't tell you. I thought that…you wouldn't come back to ask me anything…anymore…so I drew what I saw…and gave it back to you…" Rina sniffed.

Dei's gaze softened, instantly understanding the early hours of the morning. He placed a hand on the shorter girl's head. "Thanks, un."

"Huh…?" Rina looked up at him with slight surprise.

"You were just looking out for me, weren't you, yeah?" He grinned and ruffled her hair.

She started to cry again, feeling the tears just fall. She felt something warm lick her head and she yelped in shock.

"Uh…sorry, un." Deidara lifted his hand and cringed at his hand, a tongue coming out and then going back in.

Rina made a face but then laughed, a smile brightening her features. "I'll miss you, you know! I'll see you next time, Deidara!"

Deidara smiled and placed his hands on his hips. Rina grinned at him and went back to the cart, waving before closing the door.

"A friend of yours, Rina?" Her mother asked with a small smile.

Rina glanced at her and grinned, nodding. She waved to Deidara from the small window as the cart started to move towards their destination. Deidara had a grin on his face as he waved.

Her father chuckled and whispered to his wife, "That's the Tsuchikage's prized disciple."

She made an expression of surprise as she watched her new daughter. "I see."

"Father, Mother, can we visit the village again soon?" Rina asked hopefully, turning around in her seat.

"Of course."

* * *

Deidara's arm slowly went back down to his side as the cart disappeared from view. The smile had dropped off his face as he turned around and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking up into the blue sky.

 _Maybe I'll believe her._


	10. Sketch 10

Sketchbook

Sketch #10

* * *

 _So she was right, hm?_ Deidara thought to himself. He stood up after being called from outside the temple he resided in, the clay in his hands. He turned to see who he expected, seeing a group of familiar men.

"What do you want, hm?" Deidara placed a hand on his hip.

"We want you to destroy a certain something." One of the men stepped forward and smirked slightly.

Deidara's blue eyes slightly narrowed.

"And what is that, un?"

* * *

 _And she's right again, un._ Deidara mentally punched himself for not believing her back then. He glanced at the people in the red clouded robes and saw the one that she said that he would dislike, as well as the puppet.

"Join Akatsuki."

* * *

Rina sighed deeply and tapped her fingers against the table. She was waiting for a parcel that would be coming, addressed to her.

 _When's it going to come?_ She recalled her dream – it should be coming very soon.

The doorbell rung and she jumped up to reach the door, opening it almost immediately. She exclaimed in surprise when she saw the mail person, her jaw hanging open.

"Hey, Rina, stop drooling and start taking, un." Deidara rolled his eyes and shoved the parcel into her hands, a brow raised.

She took the parcel and made a funny face, "I'm not drooling!" She huffed with annoyance.

"You were, un." Dei teased with a grin.

Rina was shocked – he hadn't visited her once at all, and in that while that he didn't, he was out causing havoc!

Behind Deidara was the big puppet. That puppet's deep voice sounded as if it was frowning at Rina, "What, so you came to see this brat?"

"I'm not a brat." Rina narrowed her eyes at the puppet. She turned back to Deidara, taking in his more mature appearance. "You've grown, Deidara. Long-time no see."

"Sorry for not visiting before, un, but things got a little hectic and—" Deidara explained.

"Why don't you two _criminals_ come in?" Rina held a small smirk as she cleared the doorway.

Deidara made a face, "What, even you, un?"

"I didn't say I would arrest you, did I? Now come in." Rina turned her attention to her friend's partner in crime, "Get out of that puppet – it won't be able to come in through the door if you stay in that."

Deidara made an 'o' with his mouth when he remembered that she knew about what he really looked like, "Ah, Sasori no Danna, she already knows your face, yeah." He strolled into the house and looked around, marvelling at the cleanliness.

Sasori made a weird sound that sounded like a grunt, but got out of the puppet. He was slightly surprised that this Rina girl had seen through his disguise.

"I'm watching you." He muttered as he passed her.

"It's okay. I won't do anything to you." Rina smiled.

Sasori eyed her with a narrowed eyed look before taking a seat at the dining table that Deidara sat on. Rina went off for a moment before coming back with light refreshments and tea.

"My parents aren't home and won't be coming back until later. They're on a business trip. So I can afford to let you guys in for now." Rina explained. She watched as Deidara sneakily took a lot of the food.

"Why were you so surprised to see me, hm?" Deidara said after eating.

"I didn't dream about this." She replied. "I only knew that a parcel was coming."

"Oh yeah, that, un." Deidara pointed to the parcel in question, "Open it after we leave, yeah."

"Alright." She went off to place it in her room and came back with a confused expression, "Wait, now that I think about it, why are you here in the first place?"

"We were in the area, un." Deidara licked his fingers and drank some tea.

"And now you're scarfing down all my food." Rina deadpanned.

Sasori chuckled and smirked at the blonde, "What a brat."

Deidara shrugged and kept his cool, which astonished the female, who knew that the old him would rampage about, saying that he wasn't.

"You're just jealous that you can't eat this in that puppet body of yours, Sasori no Danna, un." Deidara said cheekily.

"At least it's not as disgu—" Sasori retaliated.

"Guys, break it off. Go argue when you're not in this house." Rina sat down and leaned down on the table, "Other than that, tell me about what you've been doing these past _many years that you haven't visited_."

"Uh—" Deidara started.

"Tell me from the _start_." Rina smiled.

Feeling the menace from her words, Deidara laughed nervously but obliged. Her stare was still uncomfortable even after so many years and he shifted in his chair, trying to avoid her gaze.

"O-Okay, un."

* * *

After the duo left, Rina went to her room to fetch the parcel. Before opening it, she thought about what Akatsuki was. She knew that they were criminals but they didn't seem like bad people when she actually met them.

 _Weird. Maybe it's just because it's Deidara._ Rina shrugged and opened up the parcel, looking inside.

She raised her brow when she saw a wooden box. Without another thought, she opened it and looked at its contents.

Rina laughed.

 _A sketchbook and a pen, hm?_

* * *

"Wait a minute." Rina held the items in her hands and stared at them with a concentrated brow. Once she realised the material that it was made from, her eyes widened and she gaped.

Deidara blinked a few times when he heard her scream his name from Rina's house. He smirked and laughed when he heard it, "My job is done, hm!"

"What did you give her?" Sasori was back in Hiruko. "She sounds angry."

"Just something that she'd like, un." Deidara hummed and created a large dragon so that they could fly to their next location.

As they were about to set off, the door slammed opened and Rina stood there with the gift, an angry expression on her face.

"See? I told you." Sasori climbed onto the dragon.

"Hope you like it, yeah!" Deidara grinned and the dragon's wings began to flap.

"DEIDARA! Why would you!?" She shouted.

"Thanks, Rina, yeah! See ya!" He waved once before they flew.

Rina sighed and shook her head. She had already calmed down and breathed in a lungful of air, shouting at the top of her lungs, "THANK YOU DEIDARA!"

Upon hearing that, the blonde raised a hand in motion that he did.

"If Kakuzu heard of what you did he'd throw a fit." Sasori mused with a smirk.

"I used my own funds, un!" Dei crossed his arms.

"Brat, you're grinning too much."

"Shut up, un!"


	11. Sketch 11 Extra

Sketchbook [Deidara]

Extra

* * *

"I…couldn't bring…myself…to tell…you…" A hand slid off his cheek, leaving a trail of blood.

Deidara bit his lower lip, eyes clenching together as he looked away from his childhood friend's face.

 _Why? Why did it end up like this? I put you somewhere safe, dammit, un!_

He clenched his teeth together, his breathing becoming quicker. His mind had clouded over from the mission he was undertaking, and he knew, that he had made a huge mistake.

Slowly, the Akatsuki member opened his eyes, daring to meet with Rina's golden irises. He hadn't seen her in a couple of years, and the last time they had met, flashed into his mind.

It was when he had said his farewells, when he had decided that he wouldn't meet her anymore. It was a couple of visits after he had given her the sketchbook adorned with jewels, one that he had specially asked for to be handcrafted. Of course, it was expensive as hell and back, but he did it because he wanted to, even though he got severely scolded by Kakuzu.

* * *

" _ **Rina, un…this is my last time visiting you, yeah." Deidara averted his gaze, not wanting to see the anguish and pain in Rina's eyes. When she didn't say anything in response, he looked back curiously, but regretted it almost immediately.**_

 _ **She was crying – silently, like a shadow. Tears fell from her eyes like an unstoppable waterfall.**_

" _ **Uh, um, Rina, un, uh—" Deidara freaked out a little, wondering what he should do. He gave up in the end and sighed deeply.**_

 **Of course farewells are going to be soppy, yeah.**

" _ **I knew this would happen." Rina's voice held something akin to a mixture of sadness and knowing.**_

" _ **You knew this would happen, un?" Dei looked at her strange, but then it clicked in his memories. He remembered her telling him, upon their first few meetings, that he would be saying goodbye to her, and that she would be crying. "Ah…"**_

 _ **Rina merely nodded, "Even though, I knew that this would happen, I feel…sad." Her brows furrowed together and she pressed her lips into a thin line, "It feels a lot sadder…than what I had experienced in those dreams. A lot sadder…" She placed a hand over her chest, over her heart, "It hurts. It aches at this moment. Will it be because I'll miss you? I don't know why."**_

 _ **Deidara stared at her hand, mouth slightly open in surprise. He closed his mouth and looked away. Sasori wasn't here with them, so he was free to do whatever without having to act cool headed. "Rina, un…sorry about this, yeah. I want to keep you out of trouble." Dei met her eyes, "If we see each other again, I don't know what will happen."**_

 _ **Rina wiped the tears from her eyes and cheek. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she decided against it, and clenched her dress with her hands. "Thank you for being my friend." She smiled warmly.**_

 _ **Dei's throat clogged up and he froze in his spot. His body felt rigid and he didn't know whether or not he should say the same thing. As his mind was getting overdriven by the memories that they made together from young, for some strange reason, Dei's mind selected the ones that were most embarrassing to him, and made him remember every single little detail.**_

 _ **Rina blinked a couple of times, seeing Deidara frozen in his spot. Slowly, his face started to become red, and the serious expression he had before changed to one of pure embarrassment. "Dei?"**_

" _ **ARRRGHHHH!" Dei slapped in hands onto his face, screaming into his hands. He spun around and tried to run away, but his cloak was grabbed and he was stopped in his spot.**_

" _ **Dei?! What's the matter with you?! How did this suddenly happen with saying goodbye?!" Rina looked completely thrown off. She had not expected any of this to happen.**_

 _ **Dei looked through his fingers to see her with a confused expression, then looked away.**_

" _ **Your ears are red, your neck is red. Spill it, blondie. What kind of stuff are you thinking about now?" Rina strongly pulled on his cloak. She wanted to know, not because it was unexpected, but she hadn't seen Deidara like this before. Well, not to this extent anyway.**_

 _ **She let go of his cloak and pulled his hands away from his face. She stood there dumbfounded when she saw that his cheeks were really red, just like before.**_

" _ **Did you remember something really embarrassing?" Rina asked curiously.**_

 _ **Dei opened his mouth and then closed it, before shaking her hands off. He shook his head, forcing his redness to go down, before facing her again. "Anyway, un, I can't involve you in anything I do. So it's better to part ways, yeah."**_

" _ **You've already said something to that extent." Rina placed her hands on her hips. "Well, my sadness runs deep but I'm kind of already over it. If you decide to visit me, go ahead. Just don't go dying on me, you hear me?"**_

 _ **Dei's brows rose and he chuckled, "I won't die, un."**_

 _ **Rina stared at his face, searching his eyes. This lasted for a long 5 minutes. Deidara became more and more awkward as the time passed.**_

 _ **Finally, she said something. "You better not." With a few soundless steps, Rina had gone up to Dei, tip toeing and giving him a kiss on the cheek.**_

 _ **Stunned, the blonde stared at her wide eyed for a long moment, touching his cheek. His cheeks turned a rosy red. Quickly realising this, he turned on his heel quickly and summoned a clay bird, escaping into the skies.**_

 _ **In the sky, Dei glanced back down, seeing that Rina was watching him. She was waving, which prompted him to wave back.**_

 _ **Deidara sighed, mind preoccupied. Why did he have to react that way to her? It was a foreign feeling for him.**_

 _ **Kurotsuchi's smug face from years back still haunted his mind, and he desperately tried to delete it, however to no avail.**_

 **Damn you, Kurotsuchi…you knew all this time, didn't you,** _ **Dei thought with huge annoyance.**_

 _ **Dei shook his head,**_ **No, un, I can't think about Rina all the time. I can't see her again, yeah. And it's for her own safety. Yeah, it's better this way, un.**

 _ **Back on the ground, Rina watched as he become just a dot in the distance. A tear slipped down her cheek. She lied when she said that she was over it.**_

 _ **She knew that Deidara couldn't keep with what he said.**_

 _ **She knew.**_

 _ **She very well knew.**_

* * *

Rina raised her arm again, but it shook as she struggled to bring it up to his face. "Dei…dara…"

He felt his blood run cold when he realised what he and his partner, Sasori, had done. They were on a mission to do a raid on a church where rebels had come to stay, and the client had told them to leave no survivors. To make matters more discrete, they ordered them to only use knives and sharp weapons, rather than anything flashy like explosions.

Deidara's shocked wide blue eyes couldn't stop staring at Rina, who had several wounds on her body, ones that would surely bring the life out of her. Most of them Sasori had made, but Dei had done the finishing blow, a kunai to her artery. He was kneeled down in front of her, holding her upper body with shaking hands.

"R-Rina…un, don't die…don't die…!" Deidara held her tighter, eyes glassing over. He was used to the smell of blood, but at that moment, he felt sickened at the sight and smell of it.

He didn't know this would happen. He didn't expect this to happen. Rina was supposed to be at home, safe from whatever activity he was doing! He didn't even know she'd be at the church!

Rina's hand touched Deidara's cheek, gently caressing it and smearing her blood.

"Sorry…Dei…I lied…about before…when we were young…" Rina winced when she moved slightly, "That being a ninja…you would kill me…I'm sorry…even if…I wasn't a ninja…you would've…inevitably…killed me…" She coughed up blood, "…even if…it was accidental…"

Dei's mind went blank, but it was also full of every single moment spent with the girl. He didn't expect her to be this precious to him. He was sure he threw that away, but every time he saw her again, those memories, would float right back up, no matter how hard he tried to lock them deep within.

"Rina..." Dei could feel his hands being drenched with her blood, which he hated the feel of. "Rina…! Don't…don't die on me, un! I told you that I wouldn't die, so you don't die on me either, yeah!" At this point, he could feel tears welling in his eyes, but they didn't spill.

"Dei…" Seeing Deidara about to cry, Rina couldn't help but tear up as well. They slid down the sides of her eyes, mixing with her blood.

She gasped for air abruptly, which alerted the blonde to hold her, making sure that the kunai hadn't moved. Otherwise, if it was taken out, she would bleed to death within minutes without treatment.

"I'll get you treated, yeah! I'll g-get you t-treated, un! Hold on, yeah!" Deidara made a desperate attempt to pick her up, but she pushed him away, coughing up some more blood and going closer to the altar that she was praying before. "R-Rina?!"

"Don't…it's too late…for me…" Rina began to crawl with all her strength. She felt dizzy, she felt numb, but she also felt pain. She could hear the thumping steps of Deidara as he followed after her, trying to help her.

Deidara panicked when he saw the amount of smeared blood on the ground. He paled and tried to stop Rina from whatever she was doing. He saw her take something like a book from the altar, but it fell, opening and staining itself in some of the blood that accumulated around Rina. She reached to flip a few pages, but had stopped when Deidara had come up to hold her.

"Rina, un, what are you do—?" Dei stopped breathless when he felt the previous warmth from her body wasn't there anymore. It was getting colder.

With the little ounce of strength she had left, Rina lifted her hand so that it shakily reached Deidara's lips, where she warmly smiled.

"I…love your smile…"

Then, her arm dropped to the book, flipping to the last page that she wished to go to.

"…Dei…"

Stillness.

Deidara froze, seeing her serene expression. He felt cold, unmoving. He shook her a little, "Rina?" He whispered almost silently.

When she did not open her eyes, his eyes watered. Then, he remembered. The book that she had dragged herself to get. His eyes trailed down her arm and to the book. He felt his chest clench unstoppably in pain when he saw the page.

Dei could no longer hold onto his tears.

On the page, was one that he had seen a long time ago. One that he thought he had abandoned many years ago, but one that she found again. One that had predicted their meeting, and, a scrawled message.

The picture that Rina had drawn in the sketchbook that he had given her, one that he had left behind when he became part of the Akatsuki, was on the last page of the book. It was a picture of when Deidara first gave her a sketchbook. And, scrawled on top with neat, excited handwriting, were Rina's words.

 _ **I love you.**_


End file.
